Showjumping is here!

Lexington, Kentucky, USA – May 20, 2018 – The final day of the Kentucky Spring Classic, featuring the $20,000 Under 25 Grand Prix with 18 horse-and-rider combinations tackle the 16 effort track created by Guilherme Jorge (BRA). Six athletes jumped clear rounds to qualify for a competitive jump-off that saw each athlete pushing the time limit. Abigail McArdle and Plain Bay Sales LLC’s Fanta Light B were the fastest pair in the jump-off to stop the timers at 35.025 seconds.

The 8-year-old mare recenlty moved up the ranks during the Florida winter season with McArdle. The pair secured big wins at the Palm Beach Masters and a CSI 2* at the Winter Equestrian Festival class. McArdle plans to continue to bring the young mare up the Grand Prix level ranks.

Lacey Gilbertson (USA) & Baloppi

Lacey Gilbertson and her superstar mare, Baloppi, come in close for second at 35.037 seconds. Gabriela Reutter and Juan Reutter’s Atticus Diamant jumped to third with a time of 34.707 seconds.

Abigail McArdle – $20,000 Under 25 Grand Prix winner

On her round:
“I thought the course was excellent today. Guilherme [Jorge] makes fantastic courses all the time. With the jump-off, I went second to last, so I sort of knew what I had to do. There was one inside turn I was waiting to see if anyone did. Lacey [Gilbertson] I knew was the fastest in the class, so I asked her what she did on the way out. She went around and did eight strides. I had walked that eight. I am on an 8-year-old that’s very inexperienced so for the eight I was going to have to nail everything just right and I did.”

On Fanta Light B:
“This is a sale horse of Adam [Prudent] and mine’s. She’s an 8-year-old and we got her last year as a 7-year-old. This Florida season I moved her up to the 1.40m and 1.45m [classes] and she had a couple of big wins including at Palm Beach Masters and in the CSI2* in Wellington. With young horses you have to move them up and down and this whole two weeks I’ve definitely been building up to win one of these. Being 8, I think she’s got super potential. She’s a little horse with a huge personality. She doesn’t know what she can’t do yet. I’m going to keep moving her up and making her a grand prix horse until she is sold. I hope to get her into some of the grand prix classes this summer.”

On Kentucky Horse Shows:
“I love Kentucky. The [Kentucky] Horse Park is incredible. The Rolex Ring is great. I was actually able to show in the Rolex a couple of weeks ago which was really nice. I know this ring very well and it’s a good experience for a young horse like this to really go out there and gallop.”